Nielsen operates as an information and measurement
company worldwide. It offers critical media and marketing information, analytics and industry expertise
about what consumers buy and what consumers watch
on a global and local basis. TV audience data above is
from Nielsen NPM Sample and is based on live+same
day viewing during the time period Dec. 1-28, 2014.

Ranking is based on the projected audience in 000s
and the reportable day interval for each cable network.

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tinues to try to figure out the fine details
behind the ACA — and how to operate
within the new rules/regulations — DR
and digital are both helping to support
those companies’ consumer education efforts. That is, if the companies themselves
decide to embrace these mediums.

“Last year, the No. 1 place where con-sumers got information about ACA wasfrom the news, and that’s kind of sad,”says McCord. “Insurance providers werefourth on the list as information sources,even though they are ultimately the onesthat are providing the service.”That tide could shift in 2015 as moreproviders decide to “get out in front” oftheir prospective customers with ACA-related information, education, and evensales pitches. “For some time now, com-panies have been trying to figure out howto play, and how to use tools like websitesto get the uninsured excited, engaged,and ultimately to their websites and/orphone centers,” says McCord, who hasbeen working with Humana for about 15years. “Now, we’re seeing more firms usinginformation-driven, traditional DR tacticsto reach out and inform consumers.”At Hawthorne Direct in Fairfield,Iowa, Mary Kay Papp, vice presidentof media account management, saysconsumer confusion over the ACA hasHumana to pay more attention to directand digital marketing options. “Thesecompanies want accountable media thatgenerates leads; it’s not just about spend-ing media dollars,” Papp points out. “As aresult, the healthcare industry’s use of DRhas definitely grown in scope.”According to Papp, Hawthorne Di-rect has been working with WellCare forseveral years, and it has also helped com-panies like Kaiser Permanente plan theiradvertising strategies. She says companieslike WellCare are particularly well suitedfor DR, based on the fact that they havesmaller budgets than, say, Humana, andare focused on generating leads and grow-ing their enrollee bases. “For every dollarthat WellCare spends, it really needs tohave that dollar be accountable throughTV, digital, and print,” she says.

In 2015, expect to see names like
Comfort Keepers, Visiting Angels and
SYNERGY Home Care continue to pop
up on the DR radar screen as companies
catering to the senior market begin using
more direct methods of reaching their
target audiences. Focused on providing
in-home healthcare to the nation’s aging
population, these companies are all good
candidates to leverage both direct response and digital advertising methods.

Cumulatively, Boswell thinks companies within the healthcare industry are
going to get very smart about how they
allocate their advertising budgets — yet
another feather in the cap of DR, which
generally boasts lower media rates and
campaign costs than the typical image
advertising effort. And, as the ACA continues to mature and touch a wider swath
of consumers — and as the tech-savvy
millennial generation ages — Bosworth
predicts that more companies will launch
online reputation management and related initiatives.

“These companies have to keep an eye
on the next generation of Americans and
what their behaviors are — both in terms
of buying and in terms of supporting the
companies that serve them,” Bosworth
says. “I think you’ll see health systems
start tackling these issues, mainly because
just like every other business they are
under the pressure to do more with less
even at a time when their market is growing.” ;

In-home healthcare providers, such as
SYNERGY HomeCare, are turning to
direct response methods more often.